Need some suspension help...

I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to adjusting my suspension but I feel like I have tried numerous different setup combinations and I can't get it right. I have ridden the same part of trail over and over trying to get it dialed but it doesn't get better. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what I may be doing wrong and which direction to go?

It feels like when ever I hit a set of small roots it takes ALL my speed away. It bounces all over the place on descents and doesn't track straight. I feel like the bike has so much more potential if I could get it setup right. It's just a really rough ride.

First, make sure you are getting the correct amount of Sag. 25% in front and 25-30% in rear. This should be done with all your gear on.

Once that is correct, you can move to the next step. I am a big fan of tuning suspension from the extremes. Start with the rebound completely open and ride the place that gives you trouble. This could be a short section that has the roots you mention.Turn in the rebound (generally I do 2 on the fork and 1 on the shock) and ride it again. You may have to do this 8-10 times to get the feel you like but when you get there, you will know. Also, write down your information and you can always go back to it.

As a side note, Talas forks are not plush and I would convert it to a float to improve things.

On my Mojo SL with an '11 RP23, I found the rear was very sensitive to rebound, especially in medium-speed chop. I ended up preferring it one click away from full closed (most damping, slowest rebound). If I had it in the middle of the range like you have, it would bounce a fair bit over the ruff stuff even at very low speeds (big roots, logs, rock gardens). Not to mention it trying to launch off every shadow of a roller.

Sag looks good. I'm closer to 170-175lbs with full gear and ran 155PSI. Try three clicks slower rebound and then play in that neighborhood. Then play with the fork to match that.

Edit: It also looks reasonable that you might also have a tire sidewall issue. Not all tires, even "tubeless ready" ones, necessarily track well in the low 20's. What tires are you running? What happens to your ride if you add 5PSI to each?

Take some air out of your fork, for starters. 80 psi is too much for a 165 lb. rider on a Fox. I'm thinking more like 60-65 psi. Then, play with adding more rebound damping until the bike stays in control over the rough instead of bouncing back at you.

Take some air out of your fork, for starters. 80 psi is too much for a 165 lb. rider on a Fox. I'm thinking more like 60-65 psi. Then, play with adding more rebound damping until the bike stays in control over the rough instead of bouncing back at you.

- Front: Depends on terrain and desired firmness. In general 15% to 25%. For steeps I’d recommend no more than 20% to account for the amount of weight that is on the front of the bike. Set sag in the attack position (standing, low over the front on flat ground)
- Rear: Use manufacturer’s suggestion as you want to keep the chainline in the optimal position the designer intended for anti-squat when pedaling.

Rebound

It helps to understand how the rebound valving works in your Fox shocks. High speed rebound is controlled by a shim stack, which is affected by rebound speed and oil pressure (more pressure opens the valve more). The further the shock is compressed, the greater the spring pressure. The rebound knob on your fork/shock controls the low speed rebound, which is really a bleed valve. Closing the valve sends more oil to the shim stack, increasing high speed control but slowing down low speed damping. Opening the valve speeds up low speed rebound, but negatively affects high speed rebound damping as less pressure is applied to the shim stack. The trick is finding the slowest low speed rebound setting you can live with. As others suggest, start with full open and slowly close it down, or you can do the inverse and start with full closed (my preference with rebound).

So for optimum control on the roots you’re talking about, I’d set my fork up so that it doesn’t go too deep into its travel when I hit the roots, and back off of low speed rebound just enough to keep the suspension from packing up. I want to float over the roots, not plow them.

Right. Seems painfully obvious now.
Anyway - start with compression damping at "0" until you get the fork to track the terrain you want. Then; add comp damping until you dial out the brake dive and whatever other unwanted compression travel you get. Too much comp damping and your fork will feel like junk.
Personally, I get the pressure set first, then add rebound until I like the way the fork feels over fast, rough terrain. Then I go ride. On long, sustained (out of the saddle) climbs, I may slap the comp knob over to lock out the fork, but usually I just leave the comp damping at "0". A smooth pedal stroke can go a long way to eliminating the need for much comp damping.

I went out today an set everything up with the right pressure/sag and started making adjustments. I decided on 3 click back from slowest rebound on the shock. I started with the fork and got to 7 clicks from slowest and it felt like it was getting worse so I went back to 5 because it started raining and I needed to get of the trail before I got locked in the park.

My rebound has close to 18 clicks if adjustability on my fork. Would it have felt better if I went past 7? It seems like 5 clicks is nothing compared to what is available? It doesn't make sense to me??

Dude i run my talas 36 and my lyrik at about 30psi and i weigh as much as you. Find a rough patch and take more and more air out of your fork until youre accessing all your travel. Sounds like you have the right ammount of air in the rear and you just need to adjust the rebound. My prefered way to adjust the rebound is to ride the bike off the curb and watch the shock cycle. It should only bounce once then settle.

Mojo is a picky bike when it comes to suspension setup. If the bike feels like it hangs up or catches on the edges of rocks and skids through rough sections thats a sign of rebound being to slow, if your bike bounces you up off the seat and your front tire bounces up thats to much rebound. I have an HD 160mm which I sometimes run at 140mm which is supposed to have same shock curve as the mojo sl.
I would try the rp23 with propedal set to 0 in the open position and run 30% sag which equals .6" sag in the back and maybe 25% upfront. What ever settings you end up with, try to have a balanced feel front and back. Also alot of times if you tune a bike to work good at top speeds it sucks at slow speed and visa versa, so it can take some time to find a good middle ground. Just for refrence heres my settings when running my mojo at 140mm. It's tuned to work better at fast speeds.

Edit: It also looks reasonable that you might also have a tire sidewall issue. Not all tires, even "tubeless ready" ones, necessarily track well in the low 20's. What tires are you running? What happens to your ride if you add 5PSI to each?

That is exactly my thinking with his set of complaints. He has to get those tires set up correctly before he begins suspension tuning. A lot of what he is complaining about is the result of too low tire pressure.

That is exactly my thinking with his set of complaints. He has to get those tires set up correctly before he begins suspension tuning. A lot of what he is complaining about is the result of too low tire pressure.

If I raise the pressure in my tires I start sliding everywhere. I lowered it to where it is now and they grip good. Hans Dampf TSL front and Cont trail king rear, both tubeless.

But you're not rolling well. Try raising the tire pressure as lazarus suggested until you start rolling well. Then tune the suspension and see how your grip is. If grip is not good, change your tires out to something else. Personally I am not a fan of super low tire pressures for a lot of reasons. If you are still having problems maybe it's your technique. Maybe your grip expectations are not realistic for the type of riding you are doing.